Mobility and Sustainability.

All Volkswagen vehicles can be handed over free of charge for eco-friendly recovery at a take-back facility authorised by the manufacturer. There are legal conditions that have to be met in this respect (see End-Of-Life Vehicle Regulation in Germany).

Fig. 13: End-of-life vehicles in the high-bay storage at an authorised treatment facility (photo: Retek AG, Ihlow)

European Directive on End-of-Life Vehicles

With the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive (2000/53/EC) of 18 September 2000, the basis was established for uniform, Europe-wide conditions for the take-back and recovery of end-of-life vehicles. The key points of the Directive include the following:

1. Establishment of systems for the take-back, treatment and recovery of end-of-life vehicles. The systems must be offered universally, i.e. the take-back facilities must be accessible to the vehicle owner within a reasonable distance.
2. Introduction of a certificate of destruction (COD) to ensure that end-of-life vehicles are taken to the authorised treatment facilities (ATF’s).
3. Free return option for end-of-life vehicles, provided that no essential components are missing.
4. Regulations for the treatment of end-of-life vehicles to achieve recovery and recycling at a high ecological level. 95 % of the vehicle weight must be reused or recovered by 01.01.2015 at the latest.
5. Hazardous substances must be reduced as far as possible during the development of vehicles in order to prevent hazardous waste. Special limits and bans apply to the heavy metals lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium (VI).
6. The recoverability of 95 % of the vehicle weight has to be proved before the start of series production.

The complete text of the European End-of-Life Vehicle Directive, 2000/53/EC, is available in several languages on the Internet portal of the European Union.

End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation in Germany

EU Directive 2000/53/EC has been implemented in Germany by means of the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation, which came into force on 01.07.2002. Since 01.01.2007 it has been possible to hand over any vehicle free of charge for recycling at a take-back facility authorised by the manufacturer, provided that the following conditions are met:

• The vehicle was registered within the European Union for at least one month before final decommissioning.
• The vehicle is complete; no essential components such as the drivetrain, body, chassis, catalytic converter or electronic control units for vehicle functions are missing.
• The vehicle is not laden with waste.
• The original vehicle logbook or a comparable registration document is handed back along with the vehicle.